Prairie Farms Dairy, Carlinville, Ill., and Swiss Valley Farms, Davenport, Iowa, entered into a merger agreement.

Swiss Valley Farms, Dubuque, Iowa, commenced the $20.6 million technological update and expansion at its Luana, Iowa, facility.

Caves of Faribault, a Faribault, Minn.-based subsidiary of Swiss Valley Farms, a Dubuque, Iowa, producer of Blue cheese, Gorgonzola and other specialty cheeses, formed a strategic alliance with Norseland, Inc., a Darien, Conn.-based importer of Jarlsberg cheese in the United States.